Electric heater.



F. T. KITCHEN.

ELECTRIC HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.6.19 14.

1,147,951 Patented July 27, 1915.

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ELECTRIC HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED Anas, IQIA.,

Patented July 2T, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

lllililTElD respirators r. stream", or New TID soso Fesseltee ELEUTREC .application leo August f5, tte.

To all 712]! om it may concern:

lle it known that l, FREDERICK T. KITCHEN, a citizen of the llnitedv States, residingl in Staten lsland, in the borough of Richmond., cit v and State of New York, have invented certaiifnew and useful improvements in lllectric Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric heaters and is particularly adapted to that type of such apparat-us as is employed for the heating of passenger cars.

`'l`he invention has for its object 'to 'provide an improved construction of heater whereby a heating unit may be readily reinoved through the front of the casing by a simple removal of the front'plate or screen' and if a plurality of heating units are ernployed any one of them may be similarly removed and without disturbing the other heating units within the heater casing. and in either case without the removal of the end plates, and further to attain this object, in a quick and economical way, having; few parts to get out of order or to become displaced from the rough usage ordinarily given such apparatus.

My invention consists in the provision. of means for supporting the said heating7 enit or units Within the casing, whereby one or inore of them may be removed 'through the front of the casing upon the removal of the cover.

l desi able form in which my invention may be employed is illustrated in the ac-' companying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a longitudinal section of one side of atrolley car illustratingl the riser under the seat., and the covers or shields which protect the front of the heaters and permit- 'the heat to circulate therethrough; Figs, Q, 3 and s are cross-sections et a heater embodying my invention., taken on correspondinf lines in Fig. Fig. 5 is a tace view, partly in section, of the said improved heater partly broken and taken on the line 5 5 of' Fig. 2, so as to remove the cover plate; Fie'. il is a longitudinal section on the line 6.-6 oi? Fig. 2. partly broken away; Figs. 7 and 8 are longitudinal sections, partly broken away. illustrating another torni of end block and (litlerent modes connecting the wires; Fig. 9 is a cross-seetion on the line 9 9 of Fig. 11"; and

Specicaton of 'Letters ateaz.

I steamed ry sa. ser: s

is an end vien' illustrating the location or the insulating,r plugs in the end plate.

My invention is illustr ted as applied to that type of heater wherein a casing L is inserted behind the riser of the car-seat, and has a front plate or cover C which has openings to permit the escape of heat from the heater te the car, and which is made reinoi'able by removing screws c. t, is frequently advisable to divide the heater contained in such casing into small units rather than to have large one for the purpose o both control so as to increase or diminish the same will, and also reduce the chances of the heater getting out of order and so door ingr the railroad of theV car lille the heater is being' repaired.

lt is highly desirable where a plurality ol" heatingP units are employed within each casing that each heating; unit should be capable of beine/removed separately and out interferingwitli or preventing the o a tinued use or the other unit or units Witthe casing. Illy invention provides 1esirable way or accomplishing this resalta and not only permits of the removal or@ all or lany o' the heating a its separately and. Without interfering; with the' other heatirig unit or units, but also permits suoli removal Without removing any other of easingl than such as is easily accessi.. is and removable, to ivit, the cover or front' plate or screen.

In the accompanying drawings the heat f are illustrated as heise mounted upon supports D which, as constructed hy me ia form illustrated, the form of which are suitably secured the easing et e 1 extend substantially the rear there 1 half-Way toward the trent or cover olf the casing. Each oj th plates is provided means for suppe one oi.2 the heating units separately, and such means are illustrated as taking kich one of the heaters is iriserted.

Heating unies as illustrated, each coraprise core e 'which is spirally corrugated and receives helio l form slots el ato Wound wire e which is ,the resistance e- ,rient of the heater. These cores c are provided with end-bloei;

and contain a central metal rod ,t which passes throne" the core and through i: foral-loris il e blocks E" and is held I place by suitable means as by bein threaded and having thereon nuts f1. he said rod fills the double function of holding the heating unit and its end-blocks together and of providing a return wire when desired. The said heating units E are supported within the slots dof the supporting plates D as by means of small slots or channels f2 formed therein and which receive the plate D.

It is advisable tov employ means for the purpose of holding the heating units E in position in the supports D, and various means may be employed for this purpose. As shown in Fig. 2 I employ a threaded rod G which is suitably su ported, as for instance, upon the plate and which at its outer end carries a bracket that engages both of the heating units illustrated and holds them in place. In Fig. 2 the means is illustrated as a disk or washer g which is hel-d in position by a lock nut g1 and is therefore removable as desired.

My invention is not concerned with the particular construction of end-block ernployed. In Fig. 2 I have illustrated a simple, form of end-block which may be employed and is well adapted for service when the return wire is connected to the rod f after passing through the perforation f3 in thesaid end-block. On the right hand side of Fig. 5 is illustrated a desirable form of end-block which however forms no part of my invention, but is the subject of a separate application filed by A. 0. Bailey on August (5, 1914, Serial No. 855,351, and is simply illustrated because it is well adapted for use with my invention. The said endblock, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 is designated H. A leading-in wire k passes through a perforation in an insulator a? in an end wall of the casing and is connected to a clip k1 and the heating wire el passes through a perforation h2 in the end block and is connected to the clip h1. The return current passes throu h the central rod f and is wired to a simi ar clip h3, to which is also connected the main return wire h". This form of end-block is illustrated as mounted within the plates D which are similar to those of Fig. 2, but the end-block is not slotted. Accordingly the bracket g2 of Fig. 4, by which the said blocks are held in place, has a pendant flange g3 which embraces the sides of both blocks and holds them in place and permits their independent removal by the removal of the end bracket by unscrewing of the lock nut g1. It may be desirable to have the said electric heaters connected in series rather than in multiple, and in such case the rod f will simply perform the function of holding the parts of a heater unit together. Constructions containing my improvement and havin this arrangement are illustrated in Figs. and

8. In Fig. 7 the leading-in wire is illustrated as connected to a clip I, to which the heating wire is also connected, and such clip is repeated at each end of the core. The same arrangement of electric wires may, however, be provided without the clip, as illustrated in Fig, 8, where the clips are omitted and a simple connection between the leading-in wire and the heating wire is provided. The clip I as in Fig. 7 is secured to a clamp z' which is held upon the core by a screw z".

The casing is provided'with the usual semicylindrical shell a having end-walls a', and these are provided with porcelain or similar insulating plugs a2 through which may pass the electric wires. In case the central rod j' is employed as part of the return wire, such insulatin plugs a2 need be provided ,at but one en` of the casing as illustrated in Figs. 5 and (3; but in case the heaters are arranged in series they should be at both ends as in Figs. 7 and S, wherein are illustrated a plurality of such plugs at each end for employment with a plurality of heaters.

I have illustrated my invention as adapted for the use of two heating units in a casing, but my invention is not concerned with the number' of heating units supported. It may be employed for a greater number than two, and its construction is such that it is well adapted for the support of a single heating unit in a casing. In constructions where a plurality of heating units are supported, it is desirable for purposes of a convenient size of casing, that the slots in the plate D should open toward the movable cover. But it will be obvious that this arrangement is not so important in case a single heating unit is employed, in which case the plate D, as shown in Fig. 2, could be divided on substantially the line 0-6 in said figure, as but one-half of the plate would be required for the support of a single heater', and this plate could be shifted a quarter turn so thatits slot would open toward the top of the casing. It is, however, important that the opening to the slot should be accessible through the front of the casing so that the heater could be inserted therein upon removal of the cover. The junction box. end blocks, etc., could be the same as described. Nor is my invention concerned with the particular manner of connecting the electric wires, nor with the particular construction of end block or heater, but it relates solely to the manner of supporting the heater unit or units so as to permit their removal through a side opening of the casing, as described, and without disturbing the other heaters, if more than one heater is employed, and without removing the ends of the casing.

rIlhe invention is illustrated in connection lll fnhrough `he from; of Ehe casing.

1 A P r Aand each nen-ier may ne sepnree.

4might be separe'ey remove.

with n car having seais runnin nally, bu, of course, c essential, and he im'enon is ful in connection vh any of types of cars.

My invention is nc, concerne particular construction of cesngjs heae uni: enplnyef7 an@ efner censrucicns those lusrated may be nse. connes" therew; l. Nor is my inven 1he particular number of une l nor to their exact consruezen as onese may.' be changed and eqni'men', devices nm? ne 1 nrw Snell nuldun. cn of enen ef seni Casin and e renlovabe'fron ndependenzly suppo ing a W e 'Y 1 f ndenl heaters whin said ces ng; sa L eef-less E means permitting he renovn ci *Lherefrom ndependeny fering; Wih-theoher heaerss a see-ce provided between said snppo and che end of the easing a ion box whereby upon reneve plate the eecrcal conneecns are eccessne and each heater may oe sepm'n'ejf 2. In n n eecrc heater m a eno'vahe fron pa'e, ree s c pendeny supporting giura Within said casing, said suppe permicing the removal of eacn heme: fiom indepencenlj; "tlen ering Wh he nher heeers provided beneen seid and an end of 'he casing in@ a box, whereby upon eneva plate he eecrea C01 eeions ene MIT ...um

through the from: O ehe Casin a able means for reanng supporting means.

supporting )ae ai', enen oy se for Seidl nemers inside ei se each peee having n senmee L heater opening bowarc ne f uponremovn of the freni;

supporzng pae et eeen en *f for said 'nemers nsie 5^ fi e? each plate having sepaz'ee eeeess e heaer openin toward iihe fr upon removal o" the freni; Biete enen may "ne sepznraeyV enofvec @bie means for unimes.

and a removable front plate, means for independently supporting a plurality of heater units in said caslng comprising a. plate 'hav` ing a plurality of channels opening toward the front of the casing and an independent end block of insulating material for 'each heater adapted to be received in one of said channels, said plate located within said casing and a space bein provided between it and an end plate formmg a junction box, and the'removal of the front plate affording access to the electric connections and permitting the independent removal of any of said heater units through the front without interfering with the other heater units.

12. In an electric heater having a casing and a removable cover, a plurality of heating units in said casing, means in said casing for holding each of said heating units therein, said holding means being accessible upon-removal of the cover and adapted to permit the separate removal of any heating unit therefrom without disturbing the other heating unit or units, and space being provided within said casing for electrical connections and said electrical connections being accessible upon removal of the cover.

13. In an electric heater having a casing, end walls, a removable front plate and a heating unit therein, a supporting plate for said heater having a recess therein, the opening to which is accessible from the front of the casing, said plate being located within said casing and providing a space between the plate and one of said end walls, forming a junction box.

14. In an electric heater having a casing and a removable front plate, means for supporting a heater unit in said casing comprising a plate having a channel, the opening to which is accessible from the front of the casing'for receiving an end block and an end block of insulating material for said heater adapted to be received in said channel, said plate being located within said casing and a space being provided between it and an end plate forming a junction box, and the removal of the front plate affording access to the electric connections and permitting the removal of said heater through the front.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK T. KITCHEN. Witnessesz' HENRY M. TURK, FRED WHITE. 

